M. A. D.
Gameplay M. A. D. (which stands for "Missile Attack and Defense") is a video game where players try to defend their Photon Cannon and six energy stations from missile attacks, being a bit similar to the Missile Command and Atlantis games. It was released in 1982 by U. S. Games for the Atari 2600. The Cannon sits at the bottom center of the screen with three stations on each side. Enemy missiles start appearing, moving horizontally from one side of the screen to the other. Once a missile turns white, that means it is about to dive down to the bottom of the screen. Colliding with a station will destroy it and the game will end when the player has no more remaining stations. Colliding with the player’s Cannon will disable its firing capability for two seconds. The player can aim the Cannon in seven positions to fire at incoming missiles. After several rounds, all missiles will be white from the instant they appear, not giving the player an advance warning as to which one will drop down to the bottom of the screen. Two player game The two player game of M. A. D. is just like the single player version except that two players can play simultaneously, along with the second player being able to control which missiles can dive. There is an added onscreen cursor which, when the second player positions it on a missile and presses the button on their controller, will cause that missile to dive down towards the landscape. Players then switch sides after each round, with player one controlling missile flight, and player two protecting their stations and Cannon. Trivia *Unlike with the similar games of Missile Command and Atlantis, there is no way to earn back any installations after they are destroyed, which would lengthen game play and arguably improve it with this feature. *A hack of M. A. D. was created, entitled Invasion by Atari Age user neotokeo2001. The game plays exactly the same as the original, with only some graphics changed, as the missiles now somewhat resemble the player’s ship in the fellow Atari 2600 game of Laser Blast and the Command Ship from Space Invaders, plus the appearances of the Photon Cannon's base and stations have been changed, along with it reading "Invasion" in place of the U. S. Games text after powering on the Atari 2600 or emulator. The game Paris Attack is also believed to have been a pirated copy of M. A. D. The Photon Cannon was renamed to the "Centerbase" and the stations to "Laserbases". *U. S. Games also released Commando Raid, another bottom of the screen shooter where the player’s cannon is fixed at the bottom center of the screen and shoots upwards at enemies, along with having to protect several buildings once more as well. Links *Atari Age page *Reviews of the game can be seen at the Video Game Critic (C+), The 26 Hunter (two out of five), and The Atari Times (78%)